Every month on our¯¿½ photography forum members nominate images that they like. Then at the end of the month I choose an excellent image and talk about why it rocks. The photo I choose is not necessarily the best one of the month. I¯¿½ve come to realize it¯¿½s not really logical to pit images from totally different genres against each other. That¯¿½s why there are categories in photo contests. I just choose a photo that has extremely strong elements that we can learn from.

I Got it! by Iguanasan

I chose this image for several reasons:

The decisive moment – Iguanasan captured the decisive moment here; 1 second earlier or later and this moment would be gone.

Simplicity & Story – The background is uncluttered here so this shot is not busy and there are no distractions. This makes the universal story of a boy (let’s call him Stanley) playing in the water with his shoe even stronger. The story is well captured and it strikes a happy chord in all of us.

Composition – Stanley’s pose is very interesting to look at and helps make this shot. Despite the water drops everywhere, this is a clean looking image. I am glad we can see some of the Stanley’s face here. Although I normally like to see more of a face, there are always exceptions and this is one of them. Stanley’s pose and engagement in the activity are universal enough that we don’t need to see the full face.

Exposure is well handled here and the drops look great. My only teeny niggle would be that the boy could be about 10% brighter to my eye.

Sharpness – The overall sharpness is very good here. Some of the drops seem sharper than the boy to my eye but for me this still works well. The drops are an integral part of the story and since Stanley is not looking at us because he is engaged in activity, the sharper drops work for me.

For all these reasons, this is my choice for image of the month. Since we all have opinions, some members may disagree with my choice. That’s cool but THIS thread is not the place for debate over my pick, NOR is it the place to further critique the image. The purpose here is to suggest strong elements in the photo that we may learn from.

Congrats again Iguanasan for capturing this universal moment!

I¯¿½d also like to include these 2 images as honourable mentions.

Somehow prickly by MoinMoin

Krimml Cascades - Europe's highest Waterfall